OSBM Administered Grants OSBM is administers several Directed Grants as appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly. If your organization received a grant administered by OSBM, please refer to this page for updated information. OSBM will contact recipients of Directed Grants as directed by state appropriations. If you believe your organization was appropriated an OSBM-managed grant and you have not heard from our agency, please contact NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov. Please check your email service's spam/junk folder to confirm you have not received an email from NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov. Grant recipients will receive detailed instructions via email, but can prepare the following documentation in advance: A W-9 An electronic payment form, plus a document to verify the account number (i.e. voided check, bank statement, letter from bank) A copy of your organization's conflict of interest policy (see G.S. 143C-6-23.(b)). Here is a sample policy you can download and use if your organization does not have one. A sworn statement that your organization does not have overdue tax debts (see G.S. 143C-6-23.(b)). Here is a certification form you can use to provide the required statement. A scope of work outlining what will be accomplished with grant funds. Please include specific performance measures. See our examples of performance measurement for guidance on creating performance measures for your grant project scope of work. Once all documents are received and approved, OSBM will prepare a grant agreement for grant recipients to sign prior to disbursing funds. Upcoming Training Training and Q&A Sessions. Click the button for the session to register. November 3, 10 a.m. How to receive your Grant Funds - Training and Q&A Session November 10, 10 a.m. How to receive your Grant Funds - Training and Q&A Session November 17, 10 a.m. Grant Reporting Training and Q&A More resources Introduction to OSBM Administered State Directed Grants September 1, 2022 See the presentation slides from this training. For more, watch our recorded webinars on the State Directed Grants process. For more information on reporting your OSBM-managed directed grant visit the Reporting page. For general requirements of Directed Grants, please see the State Budget Manual Section 3.15. Frequently Asked Questions Can you adjust the name of the Grant Recipient to be more accurate? Yes, so long as it is the same town/county that was named in the Committee Report. For example, we cannot change Town of Lewisburg to County of Franklin but can alter things like "Township" to "Town of" since the recipient stays the same. Can I deposit my grant in my General Fund account? There should be no co-mingling of General Funds and state directed grant funds. If your accounting software can't maintain separate accounts for the grant, we recommend creating a separate bank account for the grant. Do you accept Adobe digital signatures on required forms? Yes. Digital signatures are accepted. What do we do if we didn’t get a secure upload link to submit required documents? Please reach out to NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov and we will provide you the unique link for your organization. Can a directed grant be used to reimburse for a project that has already been completed? Your grant funds may reimburse for project expenses that were paid on or after July 1 of the fiscal year for which the grant funds were awarded. To apply you grant funds to any project expenses, they should be paid no earlier than the start of the state fiscal year for which the grant funds were awarded. State fiscal years begin on July 1. When can I expect to receive my funds? We can disburse grant funds after the grant recipient has submitted all required documents and a signed contract. What are the allowable uses of directed grants funds? The appropriations act language for the grant will determine its allowable uses. The language in the law may be general, such as “capital improvements,” or it might name a specific project the fund must be used for. The description in the appropriations act will form the basis of the grant contract and scope of work, which will clearly describe the allowable uses of the grant funds. Please consult the language in the appropriations act in which your organization’s grant was included. Can we use grant funds for indirect costs of a project? Generally, no, the Directed Grant funds must be used for direct costs related to the purpose described in the appropriations act in which the grant was included. However, please discuss your situation and plans with your grant administrator at OSBM to get an answer about the specific costs you have in mind. Do vehicles count as capital projects? This will come down to what your grant description says. In most cases no, but please contact your grant administrator with OSBM if you do not know the description for your grant to determine if your specific grant would cover a vehicle. Can a directed grant pay for staffing? Yes, although staffing cost must be directly related to the grant project. We prefer staff be 100% dedicated to the grant-funded project if you plan to use directed grant funds for staffing. If the employee is not 100% dedicated to the grant-funded project, timesheets must be kept for efforts spent on the grant-funded project, with a description of activities completed and signed off by the manager for each pay period (weekly or monthly depending upon the organization). Can directed grant funds be used for operating expenses? Directed grant funds should not be used for general operating expenses. If you aren’t sure your costs might be part of the project Scope of Work, please discuss with your grant administrator at OSBM. Can we use our existing conflict of interest policy that's part of our procurement policy? Or do you need a stand-alone policy? Your Conflict of Interest Policy should address conflicts of interest that may arise involving your organization's management employees and the members of its board of directors or other governing body. The policy shall address situations in which any of these individuals may directly or indirectly benefit, except as the grantee's employees or members of its board or other governing body, from the grantee's disbursing of state funds, and shall include actions to be taken by the grantee or the individual, or both, to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety. Does the Conflict-of-Interest policy need to be signed by all board members? It is a best practice to have all board members sign your conflict-of-interest policy, but it is not required. If you have a policy in place already, you do not need to go back and get it signed before you submit it. How much detail should we put into the scope of work about how we will use the grant funds? The more detailed the better. We understand not everything may be decided before you receive the funds, but we need to understand what you plan to use the grants funds for. If we use the funds for multiple, unrelated capital improvement projects, do we need submit a scope of work for each project? If your grant description is "capital improvements" you can have multiple projects. You will submit one Scope of Work with each of the projects listed out. Please include dollar amount for each project in budget section. When should we expect our grant contract? We need to have all required documents and the final Scope of Work for a grant project before we can send an organization a grant contract. We received money for 3 different projects. Will we receive 3 different grant contracts or 1? Each grant will have it's own Contract with a unique Scope of Work. What happens if the project takes longer to complete than the terms of the grant contract? Will we lose the funds? You will not lose state directed grant funds unless there is a deadline by which the grant funds must be spent in the appropriations act in which your grant was included. The grant contract can be extended as needed until the project is completed. Please let your OSBM grant administrator know if you anticipate a longer grant term period. Our Directed Grant is funded in both this fiscal year and next. Will both years be disbursed in one lump sum or will it be made each fiscal year? Grants will be disbursed in the fiscal year for which they were awarded, so if you were awarded grants for two different fiscal years, they will be disbursed in two payments. For example, grants awarded in the next fiscal year will be paid within 100 days after the first day of the new fiscal year, which is July 1. See FAQs Applicable to All State Directed Grants
OSBM Administered Grants OSBM is administers several Directed Grants as appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly. If your organization received a grant administered by OSBM, please refer to this page for updated information. OSBM will contact recipients of Directed Grants as directed by state appropriations. If you believe your organization was appropriated an OSBM-managed grant and you have not heard from our agency, please contact NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov. Please check your email service's spam/junk folder to confirm you have not received an email from NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov. Grant recipients will receive detailed instructions via email, but can prepare the following documentation in advance: A W-9 An electronic payment form, plus a document to verify the account number (i.e. voided check, bank statement, letter from bank) A copy of your organization's conflict of interest policy (see G.S. 143C-6-23.(b)). Here is a sample policy you can download and use if your organization does not have one. A sworn statement that your organization does not have overdue tax debts (see G.S. 143C-6-23.(b)). Here is a certification form you can use to provide the required statement. A scope of work outlining what will be accomplished with grant funds. Please include specific performance measures. See our examples of performance measurement for guidance on creating performance measures for your grant project scope of work. Once all documents are received and approved, OSBM will prepare a grant agreement for grant recipients to sign prior to disbursing funds. Upcoming Training Training and Q&A Sessions. Click the button for the session to register. November 3, 10 a.m. How to receive your Grant Funds - Training and Q&A Session November 10, 10 a.m. How to receive your Grant Funds - Training and Q&A Session November 17, 10 a.m. Grant Reporting Training and Q&A More resources Introduction to OSBM Administered State Directed Grants September 1, 2022 See the presentation slides from this training. For more, watch our recorded webinars on the State Directed Grants process. For more information on reporting your OSBM-managed directed grant visit the Reporting page. For general requirements of Directed Grants, please see the State Budget Manual Section 3.15. Frequently Asked Questions Can you adjust the name of the Grant Recipient to be more accurate? Yes, so long as it is the same town/county that was named in the Committee Report. For example, we cannot change Town of Lewisburg to County of Franklin but can alter things like "Township" to "Town of" since the recipient stays the same. Can I deposit my grant in my General Fund account? There should be no co-mingling of General Funds and state directed grant funds. If your accounting software can't maintain separate accounts for the grant, we recommend creating a separate bank account for the grant. Do you accept Adobe digital signatures on required forms? Yes. Digital signatures are accepted. What do we do if we didn’t get a secure upload link to submit required documents? Please reach out to NCGrants@osbm.nc.gov and we will provide you the unique link for your organization. Can a directed grant be used to reimburse for a project that has already been completed? Your grant funds may reimburse for project expenses that were paid on or after July 1 of the fiscal year for which the grant funds were awarded. To apply you grant funds to any project expenses, they should be paid no earlier than the start of the state fiscal year for which the grant funds were awarded. State fiscal years begin on July 1. When can I expect to receive my funds? We can disburse grant funds after the grant recipient has submitted all required documents and a signed contract. What are the allowable uses of directed grants funds? The appropriations act language for the grant will determine its allowable uses. The language in the law may be general, such as “capital improvements,” or it might name a specific project the fund must be used for. The description in the appropriations act will form the basis of the grant contract and scope of work, which will clearly describe the allowable uses of the grant funds. Please consult the language in the appropriations act in which your organization’s grant was included. Can we use grant funds for indirect costs of a project? Generally, no, the Directed Grant funds must be used for direct costs related to the purpose described in the appropriations act in which the grant was included. However, please discuss your situation and plans with your grant administrator at OSBM to get an answer about the specific costs you have in mind. Do vehicles count as capital projects? This will come down to what your grant description says. In most cases no, but please contact your grant administrator with OSBM if you do not know the description for your grant to determine if your specific grant would cover a vehicle. Can a directed grant pay for staffing? Yes, although staffing cost must be directly related to the grant project. We prefer staff be 100% dedicated to the grant-funded project if you plan to use directed grant funds for staffing. If the employee is not 100% dedicated to the grant-funded project, timesheets must be kept for efforts spent on the grant-funded project, with a description of activities completed and signed off by the manager for each pay period (weekly or monthly depending upon the organization). Can directed grant funds be used for operating expenses? Directed grant funds should not be used for general operating expenses. If you aren’t sure your costs might be part of the project Scope of Work, please discuss with your grant administrator at OSBM. Can we use our existing conflict of interest policy that's part of our procurement policy? Or do you need a stand-alone policy? Your Conflict of Interest Policy should address conflicts of interest that may arise involving your organization's management employees and the members of its board of directors or other governing body. The policy shall address situations in which any of these individuals may directly or indirectly benefit, except as the grantee's employees or members of its board or other governing body, from the grantee's disbursing of state funds, and shall include actions to be taken by the grantee or the individual, or both, to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety. Does the Conflict-of-Interest policy need to be signed by all board members? It is a best practice to have all board members sign your conflict-of-interest policy, but it is not required. If you have a policy in place already, you do not need to go back and get it signed before you submit it. How much detail should we put into the scope of work about how we will use the grant funds? The more detailed the better. We understand not everything may be decided before you receive the funds, but we need to understand what you plan to use the grants funds for. If we use the funds for multiple, unrelated capital improvement projects, do we need submit a scope of work for each project? If your grant description is "capital improvements" you can have multiple projects. You will submit one Scope of Work with each of the projects listed out. Please include dollar amount for each project in budget section. When should we expect our grant contract? We need to have all required documents and the final Scope of Work for a grant project before we can send an organization a grant contract. We received money for 3 different projects. Will we receive 3 different grant contracts or 1? Each grant will have it's own Contract with a unique Scope of Work. What happens if the project takes longer to complete than the terms of the grant contract? Will we lose the funds? You will not lose state directed grant funds unless there is a deadline by which the grant funds must be spent in the appropriations act in which your grant was included. The grant contract can be extended as needed until the project is completed. Please let your OSBM grant administrator know if you anticipate a longer grant term period. Our Directed Grant is funded in both this fiscal year and next. Will both years be disbursed in one lump sum or will it be made each fiscal year? Grants will be disbursed in the fiscal year for which they were awarded, so if you were awarded grants for two different fiscal years, they will be disbursed in two payments. For example, grants awarded in the next fiscal year will be paid within 100 days after the first day of the new fiscal year, which is July 1. See FAQs Applicable to All State Directed Grants
